(CNN Español) — Russia seized Ukraine’s largest nuclear power plant on Friday, following a week of intense warfare on Ukrainian soil by troops led by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The war reached the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located in southern Ukraine, this Friday. There, following Russian troops attacked the plant, a fire that threatened a potential disaster was generated and extinguished in the early hours of Friday morning, according to Ukraine’s nuclear regulator.
World leaders and the world nuclear energy authority have spoken out. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky rejected the attack, saying the Russians knew where they were shooting and that the disaster would have been potentially more dangerous than the Chernobyl incident.
This is what we know regarding the situation at the nuclear power plant.
Zaporizhazhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine
Zaporizhzhia plant contains six of the country’s 15 nuclear power reactorsaccording to the IAEA.
The facility accounts for a fifth of Ukraine’s average annual electricity production, according to Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator.
Zaporizhzhia is located regarding 200 kilometers west of the city of Donetsk, within one of two pro-Moscow territories recognized as an independent state last month by Russia.
Russia attacked the plant and caused a fire
A screenshot from a video shows a view of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a fire following clashes at the site in Ukraine on March 4, 2022. (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images )
Reports of an attack on the facility emerged early Friday morning, with video from the scene showing volleys of gunfire apparently aimed at the Zaporizhzhia facility before dawn.
“The Russian military is firing from all sides at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.
A large number of Russian tanks and infantry “penetrated the blockade” towards Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporizhzhia power plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, according to a statement from the watchdog.
After a heavy shelling by Russian forces early Friday, a fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine’s largest, causing alarm from Ukrainian experts and officials.
Firefighters were initially unable to access the site. After a while, the clashes ceased, the firefighters were allowed in and the fire was put out. No casualties were reported from the fire.
The fire went out at 6:20 a.m. local time, the agency said in the statement, regarding an hour following confirming that firefighters were at the scene. Background radiation levels were normal and fighting had temporarily ceased, authorities said earlier.
Flames might also be seen on video footage, though for a time it was unclear where the fire was or the scale of the threat it posed to the facility.
The plant, near the city of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine, did not sustain any critical damage in the attack, Andrii Tuz, a spokesman for the plant, told CNN on Friday, adding that when firefighters initially arrived, they were blocked. by Russian troops.
Meanwhile, Dmytro Orlov, mayor of the city of Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located, said on Friday that the city currently has no heating due to damage caused by shelling.
“Due to the damage to the main heating pipe during the night shelling, Enerhodar has no heating. We are currently working to restore it,” he said.
Orlov said those who spent the night in shelters can return home, but recommended that they avoid spending time outdoors due to the “extremely tense situation.”
“Regarding the situation in the city itself. Now the streets are quiet, strangers are not noticeable. Those who stayed in the shelter for the night, can return home. However, due to the extremely tense situation nearby, I We recommend that you spend less time outside and stay at home,” Orlov said on his official Facebook page.
The reactors are “safe”
The reactors of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine are safe despite being attacked by Russian forces, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, said.
The plant’s six reactors remain intact, although auxiliary compartment buildings for reactor unit 1 have been damaged, the State Nuclear Regulation Inspectorate (SNRI) said in its statement. Four of the remaining units are cooling while one unit is providing power, according to the release.
Separately, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator Energoatom said that the “administrative building and the checkpoint at the station are under the control of the occupants.” He said staff are working on the power units to ensure their stable operation.
“Unfortunately, there are deaths and injuries among the Ukrainian defenders of the station,” Energoatom added in a statement posted on Telegram.
Also, the fire at the facility reaffirmed fears of a possible nuclear accident, but the IAEA says no radioactive material was released.
“We are fortunate that there has not been a release of radioactive material and the structure of the reactors has not been compromised,” Rafael Mariano Grossi told a news conference in Vienna on Friday.
The plant’s operator and regulator told the IAEA that the situation on the ground is “extremely tense and avoiding,” to avoid.
Meanwhile, the IAEA said Ukraine’s regulator had told the organization there had been no change in reported radiation levels and that the fire had not affected “essential” equipment.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said her country had activated its Nuclear Incident Response Team and is monitoring events in consultation with the Department of Defense, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House.
The plant’s reactors are being “safely shut down,” Granholm said, calling for an end to military action near the facility. “Russian military operations near the plant are reckless and must stop,” he said.
Russia has control of the plant
Russia is effectively in control of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants, Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the IAEA, said on Friday.
Chernobyl was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986. Russian forces took control last week.
The Zaporizhzhia plant has just fallen under Moscow control, and during the fighting, a Russian shell hit a building inside the site, causing a localized fire.
None of the reactors were nearby and they were not affected. The fire has been extinguished and radiation monitoring systems are fully functional.
What did President Zelensky say?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 3. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called the Kremlin’s efforts to seize a massive nuclear power plant “terror on an unprecedented level,” and once more called on NATO to implement a no-fly zone over his country.
In the early morning, Zelensky accused Russia of intentionally shooting at the power plant.
“Russian tanks are shooting at the atomic blocks equipped with thermal imaging cameras. They know what they are shooting at. They have been preparing for this (attack),” Zelensky said in the post, adding that “our guys keep the power station safe atomic.
The very fact that Russia launched an attack on the plant is in itself an extremely dangerous act and might cause a potential catastrophe, he said.
“No country besides Russia has ever fired on the reactors of an atomic power plant. The first time, the first time in history,” Ukraine’s president said, urging European leaders to “wake up now” and stop Russian forces “before this turns into a nuclear disaster.
What did Russia say?
Russia’s military issued a lengthy statement on Friday regarding the fighting around the nuclear power plant near the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia.
In a video briefing, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces seized the city of Enerhodar, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and adjacent territory on Monday.
“Military personnel of the National Guard of Ukraine who were guarding the power plant left the premises and disappeared in an unknown direction before the arrival of the Russian units,” he said. “The station facilities and the adjacent territory were taken under surveillance by Russian military personnel.”
Konashenkov said the plant’s technical staff continued to work regularly at the facility, but Ukrainian forces attempted a “monstrous provocation” early Friday.
Konashenkov claimed that the Ukrainians were suppressed with small arms fire and said that the Ukrainians deliberately set fire to the training building.
CNN might not immediately verify any details of the shooting on the plant’s grounds.
“At the time of the provocation, none of the full-time employees of the power plant were in the training building. Currently, the personnel of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (NPP) continue to work as usual, maintain the installations of the nuclear power plant and monitors the radioactive situation. The radioactive background in the area of the power plant is normal,” added Konashenkov.
The Russian Defense Minister stated that Zelensky’s statements and communication regarding the incident “leave no doubt. The purpose of the Kiev regime’s provocation at a nuclear facility is an attempt to accuse Russia of creating a source of radioactive contamination.” .
The Russian government has routinely claimed without evidence that the Ukrainian government is staging “provocations” to provoke a military response from Western governments.
international reactions
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the clashes at the nuclear facility showed “the recklessness of this war”, while UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said “it is very hard to believe deliberately did.”
The US Embassy in Ukraine has said that attacking a nuclear power plant constitutes a war crime.
While France strongly condemned Russia’s attack on the nuclear power plant, the country’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told reporters in Brussels.
“We strongly condemn this damage to the integrity of a nuclear structure,” Le Drian said.
“We fully support the initiative of the International Atomic Energy Agency to demand that Russia stop all such attacks.”
With information from Olga Voitovych in Lviv; Tim Lister in Kyiv; Nathan Hodge in Moscow; Lindsay Isaac in London; and CNN’s Josh Pennington, Xiaofei Xu, Sharon Braithwaite and Manveena Suri
